Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 121,197 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,850,858 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 121,197 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.72% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $745,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,475 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,229,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,544 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,409 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,701,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $484.74. 1,249,029 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,281,264. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $477.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a PE ratio of -220.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.17.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.